I’m kind of picky about my apple desserts. I’m not a sauce person…but I don’t like huge chunks of apple either. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE fresh apples. We stock up on a dozen a week around here and keep them in a huge bowl in the fridge for easy pickings. Yet when we come around to the cooked variety, I get picky. I like my apples finely diced and tender but not mushy.

Before you start, preheat oven to 350 degrees and remove pie crusts from the fridge.

To begin, you will need three large apples. I used Galas, but I bet these would be great with many different varieties. Core and peel and then dice these babies into tiny pieces. Melt butter into a skillet or pot. I used my trusty cast iron skillet. LOVE it for stuff like this. When butter is melted, add apples, brown sugar and cinnamon and stir over medium heat for about fifteen minutes until apples are fork tender.

Roll your room temperature pie crusts out onto the counter and use a paring knife to cut out about ten hand sized circular shapes. These don’t have to be perfect by any means. That’s what makes this recipe so easy and fun. Get the kids in there cutting out the dough. When you get as many as possible from both your shells, mush it all together and roll it out for more. These shells are super easy to handle.

Place your shell shapes on a cookie sheet covered in parchment paper to catch any spills. Use your fingertips to press a ring around the center of your pie shell circle where you will put your apple mixture. Your apples should have a delicious brown sugar sauce from the butter, cinnamon and sugar. Scoop up about a ¼ to 1/3 cup of apple bits into the pie shell. Once all shells are filled drizzle apples with about a Tablespoon of caramel sauce. If you’re a fan, you could also add a sprinkle of roasted roughly chopped pecans or walnuts on top. Let the culinary artist in you come out as you fold up the edges in a rough and rustic way, gathering them together like a ruffle around the pie, closing in the apples all the way around. This was the most fun I’ve had with a pie in ages!

You should have about ten little hand pies by now, all ready for the oven. Pop them in and bake for 25-30 minutes until the crust grows golden brown and filling is bubbling. Allow to cool for about fifteen minutes. These would be heavenly with a mini scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Alone, they are delicious and just the right size for a sweet bite!

I'm baking these now. And easy is the key word. One concern, though. Should I have let the apple filling cool before spooning it onto the crusts? When I folded up the sides, a lot of tiny tears developed in the bottoms of the crusts. I now have caramel oozing all over my parchment (Thanks for that suggestion! It would be a nightmare to have that on my cookie sheet!)

Ferntucky, I didn't let my apple filling cool either. Perhaps your dough was thinner than mine? I made sure my dough was relatively thick to avoid any tears or breaks. Also, my dough was pretty cold; warm enough to handle but still cool to the touch. I'm glad these were easy for you and hope these suggestions make your next batch even more fun!